Knicks owner James Dolan almost upstaged Carmelo Anthony’s introductory Garden press conference yesterday. He lectured the media for reporting Isiah Thomas was unofficially advising him and seeming to give the very first vote of confidence team president Donnie Walsh has ever received during his nearly three-year run as team president.

The embattled Walsh does not have a guaranteed contract for next season and Dolan, in opening remarks to introduce Anthony and Chauncey Billups, veered off topic, saying he will meet with Walsh about his future sometime after today’s trade deadline.

It was a bizarre time for Dolan to revisit the topic and mention Thomas, who last week went on Miami radio and did not deny he was advising the Knicks owner in Anthony trade talks.

Dolan also went on to dispute the notion Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni were against making the move because the price was too high, saying they were “coordinated through this process from start to finish.”

Regarding Thomas being in Dolan’s ear, the usually reclusive Knicks owner said, “I will also say this very directly. While Isiah Thomas is a friend of mine, a very good friend of mine, he was not at all involved in this process. He wasn’t advising me or telling me what to do in any way. And any report implied that is simply untrue and fiction in somebody’s minds.”

Thomas has declined comment in recent days on the subject after his coy response on Miami radio, when he said conversations with his friend would remain private.

Walsh was clearly bugged by the reports and took a poke at Thomas on Tuesday when he said he thought Thomas was preparing to compete in the NCAA Tournament. (FIU is in last place in the Sun Belt Conference).

That joke probably didn’t go over well with Dolan, but the Knicks owner gave Walsh high praise. Ironically, at the last mega-press-conference, the one to introduce Amar’e Stoudemire, Walsh was told by Dolan to thank Thomas’ aid.

“Donnie’s done a great job on this trade,” Dolan said. “He’s done a great job since he’s been here, especially putting us in a position to even think of adding players of this caliber. Donnie is as respected as inside our organization as he is throughout the NBA. He and I have agreed to get through the trade deadline, then we will sit down and discuss his contract that expires in June. We will comment on that at the appropriate time.”

Dolan also spent several minutes posing for a plethora of pictures with his new players, Anthony and Billups, before Ama’re Stoudemire joined the fray. Walsh left the stage with his walker while Dolan remained. Walsh did not speak during the press conference after talking at a press conference yesterday.

The Post reported in Friday’s editions Dolan was headed to Los Angeles with Thomas in his cell-phone earpiece trying to bridge the gap with Denver. The Post also reported Tuesday that Walsh bolted New York for Indiana during All-Star Weekend while Dolan was conducting talks in L.A.